Native American Languages

Types of Degrees Native American Languages Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many Native American languages graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	8
Undergraduate Certificate	6
Bachelor’s Degree	2

What Native American Languages Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to Native American languages were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Native American Languages Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in Native American languages should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

Skills for Native American Languages Majors

Native American languages majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Native American Languages Majors

Native American Languages majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Native American Languages Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with Native American languages:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Foreign Language and Literature Professors	11.7%	$67,640
Interpreters and Translators	17.7%	$49,930

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Native American Languages?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 2 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Native American languages in 2021, making it rank #347 in popularity. Roughly 50% of the graduates are women, and 50% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Native American languages majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	0
White	0
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	2

How Much Do Native American Languages Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $55,230 to $79,160 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to Native American languages. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Native American Languages

Some careers associated with Native American languages require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to Native American languages have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.5%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	30.1%
Master’s Degree	21.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	4.3%
Doctoral Degree	37.8%

Online Native American Languages Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 21 schools offered some type of Native American languages program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	5	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	7	0
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	2	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Native American Languages Worth It?

The median salary for a Native American languages grad is $55,230 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 38% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $306,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Native American Languages

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to Native American languages.

Major	Number of Grads
Romance Languages	15,009
Linguistics & Comparative Literature	8,539
American Sign Language	2,724
East Asian Languages	2,293
Classical Languages & Literature	1,428
Germanic Languages	1,425
Slavic, Baltic & Albanian Languages	607
Middle Eastern Semitic Languages	607
Foreign Language, Literature & Linguistics (Other)	500
Second Language Learning	108
Southeast Asian & Pacific Languages	38
South Asian Languages	24
African Languages	4
Celtic Language & Literature	4
Iranian & Persian Languages	4
Greek Language & Literature	3
Turkic & Central Asian Languages	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By ish ishwar under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.